


good times for a change

by Anonymous



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Minor Fjord/Jester Lavorre, Other M9 members in background, goofy 80s prom au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 21:55:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17754179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Nott goes to prom. Feat. poofy dresses, mysterious spellbooks found in school libraries, and unexpected romance.





	good times for a change

**Author's Note:**

> I saw [this series](http://audible-smiles.tumblr.com/post/181018735967/audible-smiles-ok-but-when-does-nott-the-brave) of [tumblr posts](http://audible-smiles.tumblr.com/post/181022301302/obviously-he-shapeshifts-her-human-using-the) a while back about a Nott 80s movie makeover, and this just kind of happened. Was it a good use of time and energy? Probably not, but here it is.
> 
> Not consistent with recent backstory, or with Yeza's actual character - this was mostly written before we knew much about him, and he seems so far like a nicer guy in the show than he is here.

Prom was in just three days. There were glittery posters up all over the school, advertising it, as if anyone didn’t know. Nott had been thinking of it for months, but she still stopped in the hallway to stare up at one of them, transfixed. This was her senior year, her last chance, and she wanted so, so badly to go. She had no dress, no date, no transportation, but she would make it happen somehow. Today was the day she would ask Yeza, and maybe he would even say yes.

She closed her eyes and imagined it. Walking in together, to the gym transformed by lights and music. He’d be so handsome, and she’d be in a beautiful dress. His hand would be on her waist as they entered, and then he’d pull her into a dance… 

Brrrrrrring. The school bell interrupted her reverie, and she grabbed her things and ran as the hallway filled with students. She dashed for the chemistry classroom upstairs, vaulting over trashcans and ducking through conversations as she weaved around larger students. She slid into her spot in AP Chem just as the bell rang, earning a dirty look from the teacher. Caleb smiled at her from the seat next to hers.

She smiled back at her best friend, then took a couple swigs from her water bottle as she settled in, the whiskey inside calming her nerves. She usually tried not to have too much of it at school, but today she really needed to be brave.

It was hard to sit still and focus during the lecture, even on her favorite subject. The anticipation about prom made the usual jittering awareness of everyone around her worse. Yeza was totally focused on the lecture; the guys in the back who gave her trouble were preoccupied snickering over some drawing. Caleb kept looking over at her. She dropped a pen on the floor by his desk, and he leaned over to pick it up, passing a folded note back with it.

“Library at lunch?” it read. “I have something to show you.” She caught his eye and nodded, then returned to scribbling down notes. It was a relief when they moved on to the lab portion of the class.

They were doing titrations today, which left plenty of time to talk. She and Yeza had been assigned lab partners at the beginning of the year, and they worked well enough together that setting up the experiment went quickly. Caleb was the smartest at everything, of course, but Yeza was just about tied with him in chemistry, and Nott wasn’t far behind either. 

She’d gone to school with Yeza for years, but had never talked to him before this class. She’d known who he was, of course. Everyone knew Yeza, and everyone liked him, because he was handsome and smart and funny. She’d expected him to be upset about being paired with her, but he’d just smiled and started talking about the experiment. And he’d been kind to her the whole year, even on the days when she got bored and started mixing the leftover chemicals and accidentally blew things up.

Even squinting to read the markings on their burette, as he was now, he was distractingly good-looking. She shook her head as she caught herself watching him. This was crazy. Who would want to go to prom with a goblin? But she had to try. This was her last shot.

She bent down to look at the marking also, putting her head level with his. “So prom’s coming up soon, huh?” she said. She’d meant to be casual, but that had definitely come out as a screech.

Yeza didn’t seem phased. “Yeah!” he said happily. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Are you going with anyone?” Nott asked. Their beaker of acid turned faintly pink, and she and Yeza reached out at the same time to stop the liquid dripping into it. Their fingers met on the value.

“Not yet,” he replied. Their fingers were still touching. Nott’s heart was pounding. 

“Do-you-want-to-go-with-me?” she blurted out. There, she’d said it. She fumbled for her water bottle and took another swig, ignoring the teacher glaring at her again.

Yeza blinked, and rubbed a hand though his hair. “It’s really nice of you to ask,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “But I was planning to ask someone else. Just waiting for the right time.”

“Oh, yeah, ok, that’s fine,” she managed. “That’s totally great.” She could feel the other students watching them. Had they heard her? They’d definitely heard her. 

The rest of class was a blur. She focused on getting through the experiment without looking at Yeza’s face, or anyone else around them, until the bell rang to let them go. Caleb caught up with her as she was leaving the classroom, tucking a protective arm around her. Someone behind them snickered, but Caleb didn't seem to even notice, and she loved him for it for a second. 

“I’ll get us lunch, ok?” she said. “I’ll meet you in the library after.”

“I can come with you, if you want,” he offered. 

“No, no, I’ll be right back,” Nott told him. The cafeteria wasn't a great place for either of them, but she could get in and out faster. She slipped out of his arm and hurried down the hall, trying to make it there before it filled up. 

She bought two sets of overcooked burgers and fries, wrapping them in napkins and slipping them into her bag. Now she just had to make it to the library. She gave the tables of students a wide berth as she scurried towards the door – tripping the goblin apparently never got old – and slipped outside into the lot behind the school. They weren’t supposed to be in the library during lunch, but Caleb always got an exception because the teachers liked him. He would have propped the back door open for her, so she just had to circle around the building to get there.

The only hard part was sneaking past the open cafeteria windows. Short as she was, she still had to crawl to avoid being seen. She’d almost made it when she heard Yeza’s voice.

“- don’t have anyone else in mind, but I didn’t know what else to say. She’s actually pretty nice when you get to know her, but she’s still… you know…”

“Dude, you don’t need to explain it,” one of his friends said loudly. “God, can you imagine going to prom with that?”

Nott left before she could hear any more, face burning. She shouldn’t have expected anything more; she knew what she looked like. But Yeza had been nice to her, and she’d let herself hope… 

She hurried past Beau and Yasha and Molly, who were out here smoking as always. Beau raised a hand in greeting, but Nott was still too upset to do more than wave loosely back. She kept going until she’d made it to the propped-open door, and slipped into the back of the library.

She held back a sneeze as she crept over to Caleb’s table. It was dusty at this end of the library, and mostly filled with out-of-date textbooks. She’d never seen anyone back here besides the two of them, which made it a perfect place to eat lunch.

Caleb waved her over excitedly as soon as he saw her. He had been her closest friend since she’d started school here. Her only friend, for a long time, although that had changed recently. They’d met in detention their first day of freshman year, after she’d been put in for stealing and he for trying to sneak his cat into school. They’d wandered out together when the teacher fell asleep, and she’d taught him how to break into a vending machine. Then she’d realized the next day that he was in all her classes – she’d been too nervous at first to really notice anyone.

They made a good team. They worked on homework together mostly, but they also looked out for each other. People gave him shit too, because he was poor and had an accent and maybe didn’t shower enough, but they could still help each other. It made a lot of difference, to have someone to make a distraction, or keep an eye out, or even just to comfort her afterwards.

Right now, he had a book out on the table. Huge, with yellowed paper, it wasn’t like anything she’d ever seen in their school. “What’s that?” she asked as she pulled the burgers out of her bag. She wolfed hers down, and wiped her hands off on her pants; Caleb was too distracted by the book to even touch his.

“I found it stuck behind one of the shelves here,” he whispered. “This will sound crazy, but I think it is a magic book.”

“You’re right Caleb, that does sound crazy,” she whispered back. “Maybe you’ve been spending too much time in here.”

“No, no, watch,” he said, flipping to the front of the book. He held out a hand, and read off the page before him, chanting in a language Nott had never heard before. Slowly, points of light appeared above his upturned hand, moving in slow circles until they coalesced into one globule. Caleb moved his hand, and the light moved with it.

“Holy shit,” said Nott.

“That’s not all it has,” Caleb said. “There’s a whole list of spells in here. For opening locks, for hurting people, for changing your appearance…

“Changing your appearance?” Nott asked, her attention caught even more.

“Yes, it says… you picture what you want to look like, and read the words, and you’ll look that way for the next twenty-four hours. And - ”

“Try it on me,” Nott interrupted.

Caleb hesitated. “Maybe we should wait until I’ve read the rest of it. I don’t want you to get hurt if something goes wrong.”

“I don’t care!” said Nott. “Just try it.” She didn’t care if it was risky. She could still hear Yeza and his friend talking about her, over and over in the back of her skull. She was sick of being ugly and gross, and if there was any chance this would work…

Caleb looked at her, and she could see the question on his lips. But he just nodded, and flipped to another page in the spellbook.

Nott closed her eyes. She pictured a girl about her height with tan, smooth skin, a small straight-toothed mouth, bright blue eyes. She held the image in her mind as Caleb began to read.

A tingle ran though her body; not quite pain, more like an itch. Caleb went quiet, and laid his hand on hers. She opened her eyes, and looked down to see a small human hand underneath his ink-spotted one, skin matching the girl she had pictured. She pushed up her sleeve, then checked her ankles and under the hem of her shirt. Everywhere had changed.

“It worked…” she said, astonished.

“It did,” Caleb said softly. “Do you feel ok?”

“Yes!” she said. “I feel great. Thank you so much, Caleb.” 

She hugged him, and he squeezed her back tightly. “There’s one other thing I didn’t have time to say,” he told her as he let go. “The spell will break if you eat or drink anything.”

Nott nodded, and passed him her water bottle of liquor. “Will you hold this for me then?” she asked. “Just in case.” There was still time left in the lunch period, and it was obvious what she should do. “I’m going to go find Yeza,” she said. “He’s probably still in the cafeteria. Maybe I actually have a shot with him now.”

“He’s an idiot if he says no,” Caleb told her. He fussed with some of her newly brown hair, pulling out a knot, before letting her go. “I’ll see you in English. Best of luck.” 

She waved goodbye and left the library, taking the shortcut past the librarian and circling back to the cafeteria. Just outside, she realized she was still wearing her normal clothes, a ratty hoodie and too-loose jeans. She scanned the hallway, and saw a corner of fabric poking out of one of the lockers. 

It took only a moment to get past the lock. She pulled out a thin purple sweater, nicer than anything she’d ever worn. She tucked her sweatshirt behind a trashcan and pulled the stolen sweater on. It fit more tightly than anything she’d worn too, but she reminded herself there was no reason to hide now. She missed her water bottle, but she took a deep breath and walked into the cafeteria.

Yeza and his friends were still at their table by the window, talking loudly. She walked up to them; there was an empty seat at the table.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” she asked, gesturing at it. 

They looked at each other, confused. “Sure, no problem,” one of them said. Not Yeza. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“No, you haven’t,” Nott said. “I’m new. I just moved here. I’m starting classes in a few days, but I came here early to meet people.” Fuck, she wasn’t much better at lying when she looked like this. 

“That’s cool,” the same guy said. “What’s your name?”

Fuck. “Nah- Natasha,” she managed. “Maybe one of you could show me around the school?” She looked directly at Yeza as she spoke.

“I have a free period next,” Yeza said. “I wouldn’t mind.”

So she found herself following him down the hallway as he pointed out the gym, and the auditorium, and the older, creepier gym. He chatted about the school as he went – the good and bad teachers, the spirit week traditions, the persistent rat problem in the gym, the really excellent debate team. She was happy to listen, but she couldn’t quite pay attention, focusing on keeping her eyes out for a prom poster – hadn’t they been everywhere earlier? Finally, they walked past the one she’d gazed at that morning.

“Oh! Is prom coming up?” Nott hoped she sounded cheerful instead of manic. 

“Yeah, it’s next week,” said Yeza. “People have been really excited.”

“Were you planning to go?” she asked.

“Maybe. I haven’t found anyone to go with yet.” He looked at her, and her heart rate sped up even more, if that was possible. God, he was cute. “Maybe this is weird since we just met, but would you like to go with me? It could be just friendly if you’d rather.”

Nott bit the inside of her cheek, just to make sure she wasn’t imagining this whole thing. Nothing happened, and it barely even hurt, with the tiny human teeth she had now. “Yes!” she said. “I mean- sure, I guess. That sounds fun.”

Yeza grinned, like he’d never grinned at her before. “Ok, great! Should I call you later to figure out the details? What’s your phone number?” 

The chances her family would let her use the phone, or do anything but hang up if he called, were basically zero. She dug out a piece of paper and wrote down Jester’s number. “Call me tonight around 8?”

Yeza promised he would, and then left to go to class. Nott slipped into the nearest bathroom, checked to make sure it was deserted, and then splashed some water from the tap into her mouth. Immediately, she felt the same tingle as earlier, and her reflection in the mirror darkened back to green. But neither that nor being late to English put a damper on her mood as she hurried out.

There was so much to worry about now – when was she going to get a dress? how long before prom should they do the spell? what if it failed halfway through? – but the first step was to talk to Jester. She and Caleb tracked down her after school. “Could I stop by your place for a little while?” Nott asked her. “I’m expecting a phone call.”

“Of course!” Jester agreed. “Who is calling you though? Is it a boy?”

“Yes, actually,” Nott whispered, walking as quickly as she could away from the school. “Don’t tell anyone though, it’s complicated.” Jester was already shrieking.

Once they were a few blocks away, Nott and Caleb told her what had happened that day, relating the story in the gaps between her throes of excitement. Jester took the news of the magic book in stride. She had a mission now: getting Nott Ready For Prom.

“We’re going to the mall right now immediately,” Jester said. “We have plenty of time before he calls, so we’re going to get you a dress, ok?” That would be one problem solved, so Nott agreed eagerly.

Caleb split off, pleading homework. “I can’t wait to see when you’re done though,” he said. “I’m sure you will be beautiful, Nott.”

“Are you going to the prom, Caleb?” Jester asked. 

“I’m planning to, yes,” he said. “In case Nott needs me. And you? Have you asked Fjord yet?”

“Well, I’ve tried,” Jester said, pouting. “But always he has to run off to practice while we’re talking, or the notes fall out of his books, or he doesn’t understand the very obvious pictures I leave on his locker.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll figure it out,” Caleb said. “Goodbye.”

Nott and Jester waved goodbye to him, and walked over to Jester’s car.

“I’m such an idiot!” Nott said, just as they reached it. “I can’t try on dresses like this. I need him to do the spell again first.”

“Of course you don’t,” Jester argued. “You don’t change size, right? And don’t you want one that will look good on you normally too?"

Trying on dresses as herself was a lot less appealing, but she didn’t want to drag Caleb back. And maybe Jester had a point – it would be nice to keep it afterwards, even if she didn’t wear it much. 

“All right, I guess so,” she said. 

Jester grinned, and dragged her out to the car. “You’re going to be so beautiful!” she said. 

With the way Jester drove, it didn’t take them long to arrive at the mall. Nott didn’t come here often, and she found the size of the dress section in the department store a little overwhelming. A saleslady came out to greet them, looking a little surprised at first, but smiling at them after Jester explained what they needed.

Twenty minutes later, Nott was alone in a changing room with five dresses in various shades of pink. She looked through them, as carefully as she could. One was strapless, another way too short. A third she tried on, and liked well enough, but the hem dragged on the floor. The fourth was so tight she couldn’t pull it over her hips. The fifth was perfect.

It was bright candy pink, the color of nothing found in nature. One ruffled strap held up a glittery torso before it descended into an even more ruffled skirt, so poofy that it was wide as three of her. She pulled it on, and forced herself to take a look. 

She was still green and toothy, but it was better, somehow. The dress flowed over her, giving her a shape she’d never noticed, and the sharp collarbone it left exposed was the least objectionable part of her. She was pleased despite herself, although her stomach flipped over at the thought of showing anyone. But she poked her head out of the dressing room, to let Jester know she’d found it.

When she stepped out from behind the curtain, Jester shrieked so loudly that heads turned across the store. “Oh my gosh, Nott! It’s perfect, you’re so beautiful!”

Nott blushed and tried to retreat back into the changing stall, but the saleslady was there too. “That one really suits you,” she said. Then there were other people, a few shoppers and staff who’d been nearby, and they were complimenting her too. Then there were shoes to take care of, and a bag, and makeup. It was a little frantic, but Nott floated along in a dizzy haze. At least for this one day, she wasn’t something horrible. People were being so nice, treating her like any other girl.

She held onto the bag with her dress as they drove back to Jester’s house, clutching it tight and precious against her. They made it back before eight, and Jester  
informed her of all the things she’d need to tell Yeza while they waited for him to call. 

“You can ask him to pick you up here if you want, since you’re trying to be secret.” she said. “You should come over first and we can get ready together! And make sure to tell him what color corsage to get.” 

Yeza called right on the dot at eight. Nott tried to make her voice as smooth and non-screechy as possible, and managed to get through all the details, with a little prompting from Jester. Everything was planned, and this was really happening. 

She stayed at Jester’s for a bit longer to rush through her homework, then left the dress there and walked home. She stayed just long enough to grab what she’d need for tomorrow, then snuck out again to Caleb’s house, as she did a few times a week. As always, he let her in when she scratched at his window. He was nearly asleep, so she curled up at the foot of his bed and drifted off into the most contented slumber she’d had in months. 

The next couple of days were an agonizing wait, but the afternoon before prom arrived at last. She snuck back into the library with Caleb over lunch, trembled with excitement while he read the spell again. It worked just the same as before, leaving her hands tan and smooth. 

She just had to go meet Jester now, so they could sneak out to get ready. She poked her head around the last corner to see Jester and Fjord standing in the hall.

“I’ve been so dizzy today,” Jester was saying. “It’s pretty scary. I’m worried I might faint.”

“Well, I certainly hope not,” said Fjord. “Have you been to see the nurse?”

“Not yet. But it’s just so warm in here!” Jester threw one arm across her forehead, and tilted forward towards him. Fjord reached out to catch her, but missed, and she crashed to the ground in front of him.

“Shit, Jester, are you ok?” he said.

“I’m fine!” Jester said, in almost a whine. “Are you going to ask me to prom or not?!”

Fjord blinked at her. “Is that what all this was about?” He scratched his head. “Well sure, I’d be happy too.” He extended a hand to help her up. “Jester, would you like to go to prom with me?”

Jester accepted enthusiastically. Nott gave her a minute, then decided it was safe to come out. 

“Is that you?” Jester whispered loudly at her. Nott nodded.

“I have to go get ready,” Jester said to Fjord, “but pick me up tonight at 7:30, ok?” Fjord agreed, still looking nonplussed, and Jester and Nott hurried out of the school. They weren’t as sneaky as Nott would have preferred, but there wasn’t much need for it. A good quarter of the girls were leaving early today.

They drove back to Jester’s place. “You have a dress already?” Nott asked her.

“I’ve had it for a year,” Jester confirmed.

The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind – ironing Nott’s hair, teasing out Jester’s, painting nails, putting on makeup, repainting nails when they both forgot not to touch things, putting on the dresses… At last they were finished, and Jester pulled out a full-length mirror for Nott to take a look.

Nott kept her eyes closed, at first, and wished for a drink. What had she been thinking, doing this? She felt Jester’s reassuring hand on her shoulder, and slowly opened her eyes.

The girl looking back at her was absolutely gorgeous. Pink dress against tan skin, sleek, elegant hair, a beautiful face. Nott moved her hand, and the girl moved with her. This was really her.

They had a little bit of time before Yeza and Fjord would arrive, so Nott practiced walking in the tall shoes Jester had bought her, and made sure she had everything she would need. She’d just finished squeezing the last item into her impractically small bag when there was a knock on the door.

Nott shrieked a little; Jester did too. Jester went to open the door, and Nott shrunk behind her, until she saw Fjord and Yeza standing there. She forced herself to come out, hoping she hadn’t already ruined the job Jester had done on her hair.

Yeza was in a pink-boutonnièred suit, perfectly matched to her dress. He smiled a little goofily when he saw her. "You look beautiful," he said, and took her hand to pass her a corsage. Jester's mom came down to take photos.

Everything was kind of a whirl, and then they were in a limo, and Yeza was still holding her hand. Then they’d arrived at the school, and Nott's stomach lurched a little. She was going to have to get out of this car and walk in there in front of everyone.

Jester smiled at her, and Yeza rested a hand on her waist, so she steeled herself and walked up to the school. Yeza turned in their tickets and led her into the gym.

It was filled with students, decked out in bright dresses, and many turned to look as their group entered the room. Nott could see them whispering to each other as they looked at her, and wanted to melt into the floor. But as she got closer, she could hear what they were actually saying: “who’s that?”, “she’s gorgeous”, “I don't recognize her but I’m a little jealous”. Huh.

Reassured by this, she looked around properly. The gym was heavily decorated, streamers and balloons, and a long table of food was set up around one wall. The lights were dimmed, and reflected off a disco ball hung from the ceiling. It was everything she’d dreamed it would be.

She couldn’t eat the food, but she followed Yeza while he got a plate, and then wound up in a group with his friends. She was mostly quiet while they talked, since she didn’t know most of their in-jokes, and didn’t want to be asked too much about herself. She tried jumping in a couple times with jokes that she thought were hilarious, but which landed pretty flat. Even Yeza gave her kind of a weird look

Still, people were being so nice to her. Girls who’d cringed away from her in the halls just days ago kept coming up to her and complimenting her dress. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about it.

Jester had already started dancing, dragging Fjord with her, although the music was still quiet while people ate. Nott looked around for Caleb, a little surprised at how much she wished he was there too. He would have thought her jokes were funny.

About the dozenth time she looked at the entrance, she saw him in the ticket line, arguing with one of the chaperones. He’d put on a nicer sweater than usual, with hardly any holes, and his cat Frumpkin was draped around his neck. Nott excused herself to wander over to the food table so she could overhear. “I have a ticket for him and everything,” Caleb was saying. “And he is very well behaved. He will stay right here on my neck.”

Eventually the chaperone sighed and waved him and Frumpkin in. Nott almost went over to say hello, but then realized Yeza would ask her how she knew him. She’d already had enough trouble explaining Jester. Instead, they just traded encouraging smiles, and she walked back over to Yeza’s group.

It wasn’t long before the music got louder, and more people started dancing. Nott didn’t really know how, but she did her best to copy, and found herself having a better time. Fjord and Jester came over to join them for a while – they were friends with everyone. She danced with Jester, and she danced with Yeza, and it was actually pretty great. She looked over to Caleb occasionally too, and he seemed content enough too. He’d found a corner to sit in, scratching Frumpkin’s ears and eating a plate of cheese. Beau and Molly would wander over to talk to him sometimes too, during breaks from their important business of leaning against a wall and trying to spike the punch.

The music slowed, and students started to pair off. Yeza turned to her and offered his hand, and they found a spot on the dance floor to sway back and forth. Nott closed her eyes. This was everything she’d imagined, but it didn’t feel quite like she’d thought it would. It was nice – to have his hands resting on her back, to feel beautiful – but they were also just kind of standing here not talking.

A shriek from across the gym interrupted them. Nott and Yeza let go of each other and turned to look. Students were backing away, girls were screaming and pulling up their hems, as a panicked rat shot across the dance floor. It ran by them, close enough to grab, and Nott acted on instinct, grabbing it and breaking its neck with her teeth.

She looked up to see Yeza staring at her, confused disgust all over his face. She held the rat up and said weakly, ”I solved the problem?”

Yeza grimaced. “Sorry, I have to go,” he said, and backed away from her. Nott could feel other people looking at her, and she hurried out of the gym, clutching the rat in her still-human hands.

She found a spot in the hallway outside. She’d ruined things, she supposed, but it had been nice enough while it last. She looked down at the rat. Fuck it. She was really hungry. 

She bit into it. It was tough at first, but she soon made short work of it as her teeth shifted back to normal. Delicious. She looked again at her hands, green against the pink dress.

There was the gentle weight of a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Caleb, kneeling beside her. “Are you all right?” he asked. 

“I’m fine,” she said. “At least I got to be pretty for a little while, right?”

“You’re always pretty,” he replied. “You are the most beautiful person I’ve met, Nott the Brave. If Yeza can’t see that, he doesn’t deserve you.”

“He was pretty boring anyway, it turned out,” she said. Caleb was still looking at her. He didn’t usually make this much eye contact. “Are you ok?” she asked, just as he leaned forward to kiss her.

Oh. Oh. This had been there the whole time, and she hadn’t noticed it. There were fireworks going off in her chest; she was all wobbly inside. This was what prom night is supposed to feel like. 

“You know I just ate a rat, right?” she said as he pulled away. 

“And you watched me eat a sandwich out of a trashcan last week,” he replied. “We’re both a little gross, so maybe that makes us a good match? I know you like Yeza, and I don’t want to change things if you’re not interested, but I’ve wanted to say something for a long time. And tonight seemed like the night. Something in the air, maybe.”

“I think Beau and Molly spiked the punch,” she said. “Have you had much of it?” But fuck it, she wanted this so badly, so she kissed him again. It was another long moment of fireworks before they pulled away.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked her quietly.

There was music coming from the door to the gym, drifting softly over to them. She stood and took his hands, and he pulled her in close. There was a lot of cat hair on his sweater, and a little speck of rat blood on her dress, but it didn’t matter. She felt…pretty? No, she felt loved.

They swayed there until the song ended. The gym door crashed open, and an annoyed chaperone was there, telling Caleb to go get his cat out from behind the bleachers. Caleb protested that he was helping with the rat problem, but went in anyway, hand in hand with Nott. 

Everyone had calmed down and resumed dancing. Fjord and Jester were off in a corner together, deeply entangled. Yasha had appeared from somewhere, and was leaning up against a wall talking to Beau. Molly was on top of the bleachers, doing some kind of dance that involved an awful lot of handstands. He gave them a wave as they enter.

“Do you want to go?” Caleb asked her, as soon as he’d retrieved Frumpkin. Nott shook her head. She’d made it here, and she was going to enjoy it. She ate some of the food that was still laid out, and then went back to dance with him more. Her shoes were getting painful, so she took them off, and let her goblin feet click against the floor. Jester and all the others came over to join them, and at the end of the night with her friends gathered around her, exhausted and sore and so, so happy, Caleb took her hand and looked at her with so much love, and they led each other home.


End file.
